SUSTAVI UPRAVLJANJA FONDOVIMA REGIONALNE POLITIKE EU U MALIM DRŽAVAMA – ISKUSTVA BALTIČKIH I OTOČNIH DRŽAVA I PRIMJENJIVOST NA HRVATSKU
EU REGIONAL POLICY FUND MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS IN SMALL COUNTRIES – EXPERIENCES OF THE BALTIC SEA AND BALTIC ISLANDS’ COUNTRIES AND THEIR APPLICABILITY TO CROATIA

Summary/Abstract: National systems that enable smooth management and efficient implementation of EU regional (cohesion) policy funds are crucial for the successful use of this policy in individual EU countries. However, the framework for diversity in the implementation and management of EU regional policy is extensive. Therefore, national experiences differ due to various factors, such as the intensity and type of EU funding, the coherence of the areas into which EU funds are channelled, and the relative strength of national administration. Therefore, implementation systems can differ significantly between countries, and the collection and processing of data for the purposes of this paper are significantly hampered by the unequal transparency and availability of data on the structure of national institutional EU fund management systems. The research results in this paper have shown that the systems (structure) of the EU regional policy funds’ management between countries are not identical due to a whole range of factors. However, similarities between countries analysed in this paper are also present, which is partly due to the transfer of experiences between countries. Therefore, the results of the research show that it is possible to define an optimal and functional national system of managing EU regional policy funds, based on the experiences of comparable countries and to apply it to Croatia. Given that we are at the very beginning of the new EU Multiannual Financial Framework (2021-2027), when EU fund management systems are defined by EU member states for a new financial perspective, and published papers/research that would be the basis for such decisions on the level of Croatia are absent, thus the contribution and value of this paper for policyholders is well-timed and significant.

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